Prosecution raids STX Group over corruption allegations

Prosecutors on Monday raided the offices of STX Group and its affiliates as part of their probe into corruption allegations against the ailing group.

A team of prosecutors and investigators obtained computer hard drives and confidential documents such as accounting books from the offices, including the group’s headquarters in central Seoul, to corroborate the charges, prosecutors said.

“The raid was conducted after the company requested the investigation regarding inside corruption,” said an investigator of Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office.

STX Group, once the country’s 13th-biggest conglomerate with a total of 10 affiliates under its wing, has seen its major affiliates struggling from liquidity shortages and mounting debt due to the downturn in the shipbuilding and shipping sectors.

Kang Duck-soo, the chairman of the group, resigned from the top posts of STX Offshore & Shipbuilding Co., the group’s shipbuilding arm, and STX Pan Ocean Co., the country’s leading bulk carrier, last year. (Yonhap)